Feedback from the Melting Arctic

NASA completed a cross-institutional study on rising methane levels in the Arctic. The results, we're afraid, do not look good.

On July 12, 2011, crew from the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Healy retrieved a canister dropped by parachute from a C-130, which brought supplies for some mid-mission fixes.

The ICESCAPE mission, or "Impacts of Climate on Ecosystems and Chemistry of the Arctic Pacific Environment," is NASA's two-year shipborne investigation to study how changing conditions in the Arctic affect the ocean's chemistry and ecosystems. The bulk of the research took place in the Beaufort and Chukchi seas in summer 2010 and 2011.

New evidence on global warming has emerged from the Arctic. A study published by Nature Geoscience in April reports raised levels of methane where melting ice exposes areas of the Arctic Ocean. Methane, a major contributor to global warming, is 20 times more effective than carbon at trapping heat in the atmosphere.

Previous studies have shown elevated levels of methane over thawing permafrost. This is the first study to show increased methane over Arctic waters.

The study’s findings raise fears that a positive feedback system could be created. Increased methane contributes to a warmer climate—which in turn could accelerate the process of melting. This is significant, considering the vast size of the Arctic.

Eric Kort of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory led the multi-institutional research team.

Interested?

Bill McKibben: It’s time for each of us to get involved in the full-on fight between misinformation and truth.

The author of Ecotopia, who died in April, left behind his final thoughts on hope and transformation.

Decades ago, the legendary journey of the open-ocean canoe Hokule‘a
revealed secrets of Hawai‘i’s past and sparked pride in native culture.
Now, a voyage around the world offers a new generation lessons about
Earth’s uncertain future.

No Paywall. No Ads. Just Readers Like You.You can help fund powerful stories to light the way forward.Donate Now.

Valerie Schloredt wrote this article for Making it Home, the Summer 2012 issue of YES! Magazine. Valerie is associate editor of YES!